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Am I Typical?


Asperion

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We have several topics that deal with some form of outlier, such as if characters were able to gain double or more their points or the Dr. Destroyer type. In many ways, the PCs could be considered to be another outlier within your campaign even if they are streetlevel in a world of cosmic types. Another kind that is frequently seen is how to topics like the way powers, skills, characters, etc are made. This also includes the way to introduce something new into a preexisting campaign, like going form espionage to supers or fantasy. However, there is little talk about those who are the normal folks who make up the mainstream of society. Without these commonfolk, the big, powerful heroes and villains would not be able to perform their antics, fantasy heroes would have no place to adventure or riches to claim, etc. What are these commonfolk like? How do they operate? What do the do with the PCs and society? If supers, what is their power level? What abilities do they possess? Any thing else that you would like to contribute would be welcome.

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Most people look outside their window and determine that people in the game world are just like the people IRL.

 

There's all kinds of economic levels, beliefs, backgrounds, etc.

 

For the most part, normal people don't interact with the superhero world other than reading gossip magazines and watching Peregrine's Perch after the nightly news.

 

Those normal people unlucky enough to deal with the superhero world are typically either running from a man-made disaster or are trying to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives after a disaster.

 

We don't spend a lot of time talking about normal people because they aren't particularly interesting while living their normal lives. They don't become interesting until they start interacting with the abnormal.

 

2 cents

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5 hours ago, Asperion said:

We have several topics that deal with some form of outlier, such as if characters were able to gain double or more their points or the Dr. Destroyer type. In many ways, the PCs could be considered to be another outlier within your campaign even if they are streetlevel in a world of cosmic types. Another kind that is frequently seen is how to topics like the way powers, skills, characters, etc are made. This also includes the way to introduce something new into a preexisting campaign, like going form espionage to supers or fantasy. However, there is little talk about those who are the normal folks who make up the mainstream of society. Without these commonfolk, the big, powerful heroes and villains would not be able to perform their antics, fantasy heroes would have no place to adventure or riches to claim, etc. What are these commonfolk like? How do they operate? What do the do with the PCs and society? If supers, what is their power level? What abilities do they possess? Any thing else that you would like to contribute would be welcome.


    You’ve made an observation and a statement but haven’t asked a definitive question.  Do you want to discuss normal NPC’s in a game ‘’verse, or more about what kind of skills and at what level the average person has in the real world.

    This sounds like a very interesting conversation but I just don’t understand the exact topic.

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On 6/18/2021 at 1:17 PM, Asperion said:

We have several topics that deal with some form of outlier, such as if characters were able to gain double or more their points or the Dr. Destroyer type. In many ways, the PCs could be considered to be another outlier within your campaign even if they are streetlevel in a world of cosmic types. Another kind that is frequently seen is how to topics like the way powers, skills, characters, etc are made. This also includes the way to introduce something new into a preexisting campaign, like going form espionage to supers or fantasy. However, there is little talk about those who are the normal folks who make up the mainstream of society. Without these commonfolk, the big, powerful heroes and villains would not be able to perform their antics, fantasy heroes would have no place to adventure or riches to claim, etc. What are these commonfolk like? How do they operate? What do the do with the PCs and society? If supers, what is their power level? What abilities do they possess? Any thing else that you would like to contribute would be welcome.

 

I think this really comes down to the campaign and play style of the group. I've had a few groups where they enjoyed spending time with normals in their "off time," and even went so far as to have staff on their base that they interacted with on a regular basis. Some years ago, I had a player opt to play a 150pt agent in a group of 250pt superheroes because he wanted to bring in some normality to the game. 

 

3 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

There was a city book by Gold Rush Games, and while I know it by heart, I cannot call the name to mind at the moment. Gah!  At any rate, it, too, was filled with interesting NPCs and the roles they playwd within their world.

 

San Angelo, @Duke Bushido?

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On 6/18/2021 at 5:09 PM, Tjack said:


    You’ve made an observation and a statement but haven’t asked a definitive question.  Do you want to discuss normal NPC’s in a game ‘’verse, or more about what kind of skills and at what level the average person has in the real world.

    This sounds like a very interesting conversation but I just don’t understand the exact topic.

 

What I am going for with this topic is how the typical person has responded to the presence of the heroes regardless of the nature of the campaign.  If you are using supers, how have they responded to the presence of those with powers? What is the situation in social media like?

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21 minutes ago, Asperion said:

 

What I am going for with this topic is how the typical person has responded to the presence of the heroes regardless of the nature of the campaign.  If you are using supers, how have they responded to the presence of those with powers? What is the situation in social media like?

    Good topic. 👍

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 I like to keep my normals normal - 0 pts + maybe a minor psych lim or something, a few points moved around.

A (one, singular) professional skill is enough to be a professional and have an ordinary career.

 

I guess that's kinda old-school.  But it means a background or secret id concept doesn't need to eat up a lot of points, so you can be what you want without being less super.

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I don't tend to write up characters who don't have combat abilities or are likely to appear in a combat situation. I assume average BODY and STUN, and whatever skills make sense.  If they are shot or punched by a brick, they will go down, and die unless they receive quick medical attention.

 

(EDIT: I might write some backstory for them, but I don't stat them out.)

 

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On 6/19/2021 at 8:02 AM, Duke Bushido said:

There was a city book by Gold Rush Games, and while I know it by heart, I cannot call the name to mind at the moment. Gah!  At any rate, it, too, was filled with interesting NPCs and the roles they playwd within their world.

San Angelo from Gold Rush games.

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1 hour ago, Scott Ruggels said:

San Angelo from Gold Rush games.

 

And the volume from the San Angelo line most relevant to the topic of this thread,

 

On 6/19/2021 at 9:45 AM, Ockham's Spoon said:

Check out the Hero publication "Normals Unbound".  It has lots of ideas for how to make those 'typical' people actual characters instead of just scene dressing.  It is available in pdf format in the Hero store for only $5 and is well worth it.

 

A very good volume for Hero 4E. At least as good is a comparable book for 5E,

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

If you think of NPC's as Normies because they have limited powers and abilities and don't do anything in game then yes these characters are not interesting and don't matter.  If you think of them as flesh and blood humans with desires and goals and personalities then they can become very interesting.

 

The old geezer that runs the deli shop where the Heroes go to unwind and eat who is a Viet Nam war veteran who now dresses like a hippie who can talk with the local gunner character because he knows everything there is to know about military weapons because in Nam he was back in the rear with the Gear and it was his responsibility to clean the weapons and get them ready to had out to the soldiers.  He has a son that is supposed to take over the business but who wants to be a lawyer and is not going to have time for it, he has a daughter who is 19 and in college and she is a radical eco nazi feminist who is always coming to the store to ask money of Dad while she lectures him on climate change and solar panels he can't afford.  His wife is passed away, she was killed by a soldier of viper ten years ago when they attacked the city in mass and he has a shrine to one of the characters in the store who saved him and his children that day even if the wife fell to Viper.  He does not know who the hero is because of the secret ID.  One of the other members of the party chose this place because of that did not tell the idolized character and everyone goes there so they tip toe around that subject.

 

This PC although he might have a lot of knowledge about firearms because he prepped them never had much actual combat experience in the war except for the TET offensive.  Other than that he has no useful combat abilities beyond anyone else and is old to boot.  However, in game this character could become a great portion of the roleplaying experience for the PCs even with potential drama concerning did the deli owner uncover who the PC with the secret ID was.

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